Johnny Mythen (Wexford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Clarke for bringing forward this motion. Special needs education is and should be regarded as a right and a given. Every child with special needs must be given the opportunity to attend school and be treated as an equal participant in their school community. However, this is not the case at the moment. Every year, we see a growing demand for school places for children with disability and the constant battle their parents must fight to achieve that goal. Organisations like AsIAm, Inclusion Ireland and Down Syndrome Ireland have stated that investment in special education provision is not keeping pace with demand.

We are calling on the Government to immediately reverse the cut in summer provision capitation payments. We have seen the funding for special classes reduced from €60 per student in 2022 to €45 in 2023 and €30 in 2024. This is truly the meanest of all cuts. Forward planning is required to make provision for more school-based summer programmes. It is a national scandal that two thirds of carers have no respite whatsoever and 50% of families must pay and rely on private providers for respite and care. Another disturbing statistic is that one in four carers has missed mortgage payments. The Government must address the issue of poor pay for section 39 workers before the entire caring system grinds to a halt. A case in point is St. Aidan's Day Care Centre in Gorey, which caters for more than 300 individuals and provides an invaluable service to the community and the county.

The Government must heed this motion. The Department's figures clearly show there will be an increase of more than 11,000 children with additional needs in education by 2030. That alone should be a warning sign that action must be taken now. We call on the Government to sign up to the protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, revise the model of allocation of special education hours, reverse the cuts to summer provision capitation payments and increase school-based summer programmes for children with disabilities. We ask all Deputies to support the motion.

See this speech in context